ROCKFORD — A lawyer for Rockford Police Chief Chet Epperson is asking a circuit court judge to put an end to the police union’s efforts to discipline him through the Rockford Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

It is Mayor Larry Morrissey with the advice and consent of the Rockford City Council who has the sole authority to terminate or discipline the chief — not the board, argues Thomas McGuire, Epperson’s lawyer, in new court documents filed Monday.

“This is a petition for an order prohibiting the Rockford Board of Fire and Police Commissioners from going forward with hearing the complaint because (it) doesn’t have authority over the matter,” McGuire said during a phone interview.

He argues in court documents that union president and Rockford Police Department Officer Terry Peterson’s filing of a complaint against Epperson with the board “could well constitute a mutiny of the membership” against the “authority of the City of Rockford Chief of Police and the Mayor.”

Peterson said the union continues to seek an investigation into Epperson’s actions during an Oct. 30 welfare check and that lawyers for the union believe McGuire’s arguments are frivolous.

“We believe a lot of this is an attempt to hide the truth from the public,” Peterson said. “We want a fair and impartial investigation into this and for whatever reason, they don’t like that.”

McGuire is asking Winnebago County Judge Edward Prochaska to order the board to halt its proceedings into the union complaint and to issue an injunction that would bar the union and the board from pursuing it.

Meanwhile, McGuire sent a controversial email to several police and city officials encouraging them not to comply with subpoenas authorized by the board. The subpoenas for police documents and records were made at the request of Peterson’s attorneys.

McGuire is asking that they not comply with the subpoenas until the board considers his motion to dismiss the proceedings against Epperson. Board secretary and hearing officer Ian Linnabary had ruled that the subpoenas could be issued before July 21 arguments proceed over the motion to dismiss.

It’s unclear what effect the court filings will have on the hearing. Prochaska’s first scheduled hearing on the case is scheduled in late September, according to electronic records. Linnabary said he could not comment until he has a chance to review McGuire’s court filings.

Peterson on Monday night issued a statement blasting Epperson for the lawyer’s email.

“The Chief’s flagrant interference with the subpoena process is a clear abuse of power which must not be permitted,” Peterson said in the statement. “Three of these individuals are members of the department under his command. He has put undue pressure on these members to violate a subpoena issued by the Commission.”

Page 2 of 2 - McGuire previously filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the Illinois Labor Relations Board claiming the union improperly filed a complaint with the Rockford board instead of following grievance procedures laid out in labor agreements with the city.

This is the latest episode in a long-simmering dispute between Epperson and the union.

Union officials filed a complaint with the board that Epperson endangered officers during an Oct. 30 welfare check at the home of NAACP Rockford Chapter President Lloyd Johnston’s home.

Johnston phoned Epperson and placed him on speaker phone to complain the officers at his door were rude, overly aggressive and had refused to tell them why they were there. Johnston asserted his constitutional right against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Epperson called for a sergeant to be sent to the residence and the situation was resolved without any arrests. But police complained that Epperson unnecessarily interfered with and undermined the officers.